The duo of Luka Doncic and LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the best in the entire NBA. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers, James cannot play forever. Well, the 21-time All-Star probably could, to some degree, just not at the superstar level that is expected of him now.
When James does inevitably retire, the Lakers will be in search of a running mate for Doncic. Los Angeles always seems to find a way of luring talent over to play under the bright lights of Hollywood. It happened with Shaquille O'Neal. It happened with James himself. This time around, the search may not have to go external.
No one is going to sit here and pretend Austin Reaves is of the same caliber as some of the players mentioned above. That would be incredibly disingenuous. However, Reaves continues to defy expectations time and time again for the Lakers. There should be some positive belief that eventually the talented offensive guard can step into a secondary role behind Doncic.
Reaves continues to showcase incredible offensive capabilities
Reaves has showcased, time and time again, that given the opportunity for an expanded role in the offense, the fourth-year pro can rise to the occasion and responsibility of delivering what is asked of him. It was not too long ago that Reaves diced up the Indiana Pacers as the number one option for the Lakers.
This recent five-game stretch where Reaves has backed up Doncic started off rough for the Lakers guard before quickly turning around. The first game against the Brooklyn Nets saw Reaves struggle mightily from the field, only knocking down 3-of-14. The next four games were a completely different story.
Overall, in this five-game stretch since James injured his groin against the Boston Celtics, Reaves has averaged 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game with shooting splits of 49-40-93. To say that production is encouraging would be a disservice to those numbers.
Reaves has played eight games without James in the lineup this season. The production from that sample size is similarly elite. Reaves has averaged 28.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 8.4 assists. The shooting splits of 49-44-90 look tremendous here too. Obviously there is significant overlap between this recent stretch without LeBron and the overall season sample for Reaves without James.
Nonetheless, the numbers still tell the same story: the Lakers guard could theoretically thrive in an expanded offensive role. A team led by Doncic and Reaves offensively would not feel too dissimilar from the formula that Luka had with the Dallas Mavericks team that made the NBA Finals.
Reaves is not Kyrie Irving, that is not the sentiment here. However, the two players could effectively play similar roles beside Doncic. Filling out the roster adequately around the backcourt duo would be an important step for Rob Pelinka and the front office. Even so, the foundation for life without James could already be in place for the Lakers.